Sunday, April 8

All over the world today, people will be celebrating Easter. The day that Jesus Christ was resurrected. This is a very basic story of Christ’s resurrection that I will be teaching the 4 year olds today at church.

The wicked people who did not like Jesus Christ had finally obtained permission from their leaders to put him to death. These people beat Jesus and made fun of him. They took him to a hill outside the city and nailed him to a cross.

After Jesus died, his friends showed their love for him by taking care of this body. Carefully they took it down from the cross. They wrapped it in clean, new cloth and put it in a tomb, which is a small cave or a room carved out of a rock in the hillside. After his friends laid Jesus body in the tomb, they rolled a large rock over the doorway.

Later some of the Savior’s enemies placed guards at the tomb. They did this because Jesus had told the people that he would be resurrected in three days. His enemies did not believe he would be resurrected. They thought Jesus’ friends would hide his body and say he was alive again.

On the morning of the third day an angel came and rolled away the stone at the entrance to the tomb. The guards were very frightened, and they fell down as if they were dead.

On the same day, which was Sunday, some women who were Jesus’ friends went to the tomb. They brought spices to put on Jesus’ body. This was something people at that time did to show love and respect for the person who had died.

The women wondered how they would move the heavy stone from the tomb. But when they arrived at the tomb, they saw that the stone was rolled away and Jesus’ body was gone. Near the tomb they saw an angel.

Matthew 28:5-6 reads - And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

The angels also told the women to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. The women did go tell the other disciples, and later the other disciples saw Jesus. He was alive again.

Jesus was the first of Heavenly Father’s children to be resurrected. Because he was resurrected, we all will be resurrected too. We may not be resurrected just three days after we die, as Jesus was, but someday we will be resurrected.